A second-half brace by captain Francesco Totti saved Roma’s blushes in a 2-2 draw with city rivals Lazio that pulled them level with Juventus at the top of Italy’s Serie A on Sunday.
Roma started the 141st derby only one point behind Juventus, who can pull three points clear with a win away to high-flying Napoli in Sunday’s late game.
But it took a second-half double from veteran playmaker Totti to secure a share of the spoils after Stefano Mauri and Felipe Anderson had given Lazio a 2-0 first-half lead.
“I said it before the game, Totti is a genius. This was his kind of game,” Roma coach Rudi Garcia told Sky Sport.
“We came back from two goals down, and this is never easy to do. It’s like being at the circus, you’re playing without the safety net.”
Lazio coach Stefano Pioli was quick to congratulate his players, telling Sky: “The lads had a great game. For the past two years Roma have been targeting much bigger goals than we have.
“The important thing is we went out there to win. We still have to improve on certain aspects. If you look at both of Roma’s goals, we had greater numbers in defence.”
Totti reduced arrears with a fine angled strike three minutes after the restart and claimed his second just after the hour mark.
It was Totti’s 239th goal in Serie A, taking the 38-year-old to within 35 of Silvio Piola’s all-time record of 274.
Totti, who is in his 22nd season with the club, celebrated by taking a telephone from one of the Roma coaching staff and taking a ‘selfie’ picture of himself before returning to the pitch.
Totti’s 11th goal in the city derby was also a record, and he told Sky Sport: “I had the idea during the week. After scoring my 11th goal it was an unforgettable moment.”
Elsewhere, Fiorentina moved into the top six after dominating Palermo in a seven-goal thriller in Florence.
The hosts were given a 2-0 lead by Manuel Pasqual and Jose Maria Basanta, only for Palermo to pull level in the space of two second-half minutes when Robin Quaison hit a brace on the hour.
Three minutes later Juan Cuadrado put Fiorentina in front and although Joaquin’s 74th minute strike appeared to put the match beyond reach, Palermo kept the hosts on their toes when Andrea Belotti reduced arrears from the spot nine minutes from time.
“In the dying minutes we were afraid of them pulling level, but the lads held firm and showed that on the day we were the superior side,” Fiorentina coach Vincenzo Montella told Rai Sport.
Sampdoria remained in the hunt for a Champions League place thanks to Eder’s 49th minute strike in a 1-0 home win over Empoli.
Sinisa Mihajlovic’s men ended a three-game winless run to sit fourth, 10 points behind Juve and only one behind Lazio in the third and last Champions League qualifying spot.
“We’ve got 30 points already and we’re one match away from the halfway stage of the season, so we have to be satisfied,” Mihajlovic told Radio Rai.
“We’re fourth in the table but we continue to take it one match at a time.”
Cagliari gave their bid to beat the drop a boost with a precious 2-1 win over basement side Cesena.
Atalanta and Chievo played out a dull 1-1 draw in Bergamo, while Parma’s relegation woes were compounded by a 3-1 defeat away to Verona with veteran striker Luca Toni hitting his sixth goal of the campaign for the hosts.
Earlier, former Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic’s first goal for Inter Milan secured a 3-1 win over Genoa in their Serie A clash on Sunday as on-loan Arsenal forward Lukas Podolski made his first start for the hosts.
Inter are now 15 points behind champions and leaders Juventus, but just six behind third-placed Lazio.
